On June 24th, The Century Foundation sponsored a briefing at The National Press Club to discuss its recent publication of The War on Our Freedoms: Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism. Four contributors to the book commented on the wide-ranging implications of the war on terrorism on civil liberties, including increased domestic surveillance and government secrecy. Overall, the panel agreed that many of the policies enacted in order to prevent another terrorist attack, in addition to disrupting the right balance between liberty and security, have not been effective The panel focused on the lack of media-play and open public discussion about the Bush administration actions regarding civil liberties in response to the attacks of September 11th, the most significant being the USA PATRIOT Act. Speakers referenced historical examples such as the Sedition Acts of the late 18th century and more recent internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII in order to shed light on the trend of American repression followed by regret in times of national emergency. Former New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis voiced particular concern that the War on Terror has no foreseeable boundary or end, saying, “The fear of terrorism may well go on for the rest of our lives. We have not the breathing space to understand or regret punitive excess.” All panelists agreed that present policies have their roots in fear. Commenting on prevention of terrorist attacks, Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta said that the American people “cannot remain vigilant if they are ignorant,” noting government suppression of scientific information. He cited two examples: a White House request to remove approximately 6,000 documents from government websites, and the chemical industry’s resistance to calls for increased safety, choosing instead to vastly limit the public’s access to its chemical safety information. Ann Beeson of the ACLU attacked what she called a Justice Department “misinformation campaign”, giving examples where government correspondence and actions run contrary to the department claims that the USA PATRIOT Act does not apply to Americans and restricts the FBI from obtaining records without probable cause. Beeson noted that the PATRIOT Act replaces probable cause with a mere relevance standard. Roberto Suro of the of the Pew Hispanic Center said the nation is falling into a two-tiered system in which non-citizens are denied the rights granted by the Bill of Rights, contrary to Supreme Court rulings. Suro said flaws with changes in immigration and naturalization policies and over-complexity in these rules allow for easier roundup and detention of people on visas. He noted that these measures have not found a single terrorist. For further information on the panel or the book visit the waronourfeedoms website. For a related OMB Watch article on the impact of the PATRIOT Act on nonprofits see: Anti-Terrorism Bill Could Impact Nonprofits